Free School Meals: Universal Credit

(asked on 5th June 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Smith of Malvern on 20 May (HL7185), whether they will now answer the question put; namely what estimate they have made of the number of children who will lose their entitlement to free school meals following the ending of phase one of the transitional protection for those migrating to Universal Credit.


Answered by
Baroness Smith of Malvern Portrait
Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
This question was answered on 30th June 2025

​​Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meal (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. We are clear that no pupil with transitional protections will lose their entitlement to FSM before the new entitlement is introduced, which will mean that children that need it most, from families receiving Universal Credit, will continue to receive a free meal. Following our expansion of eligibility from September 2026, it is our intention to end all protections.

We estimate that over half a million more children will benefit from a free meal, taking into account the impact of ending transitional protections. Full details of this estimate is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/estimate-of-additional-children-claiming-free-school-meals-following-expansion-of-eligibility/2025.

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